Delaware

During the early years, the beacon light was referred to as the Cape Henlopen Lower Light. Later it was called a range and harbor light. Initially the rubble stone tower was about 45 feet high. No dwelling was associated with the beacon as Stephen Pleasonton, the fifth auditor of the Treasury in charge of our system at the time, felt that the service could save on expenses by having the keeper of the main light tend both aids.

The Cape Henlopen Lighthouse was the fifth lighthouse constructed in the Colonies, completed in 1764, the same year as the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey. The story of the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse is one of eroding sand, accreting sand, shifting sand, sand seeping into the keepers' dwelling and the tower, and amassing sand. Sand amassed in such large amounts that at times it piled up against the dwelling to the extent that the keeper's children could exit via tile upstairs windows and slide to the ground.

The story of the Delaware Breakwater East End Light Station cannot be told without first delving briefly into the history of the Delaware Breakwater's massive stone wall. At the time of its construction, the engineering marvel that yielded the eight-tenths-of-a-mile-long wall of protection off Cape Henlopen was the second largest such work of its kind in the world.

Not many people today are aware of the fact that in addition to the existing Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse, the Delaware Breakwater, or inner stone wall in Lewes Harbor, was home to another beacon of the sea. In fact, this forgotten lighthouse-known as the Delaware Breakwater West End Light Station-actually preceded the east end light and stood sentinel around the midway point of the breakwater wall.

On March 3, 1831 Congress appropriated $1,500 to construct a lighthouse at the mouth of Mispillion Creek. That same year the Superintendent of Lighthouses for the State of Delaware, Henry Whiteley, entered into a contract with Winslow Lewis, of Boston, to construct the lighthouse which was a dwelling (22-by-16 feet) surmounted by an octagonal tower and iron lantern equipped with six lamps and six 9-inch reflectors. The contractor was also to furnish a spare lamp, two tin oil canisters, one gallon measure, three wick formers, a stove, one pair ofscissors and one file.

The Delaware Bay and River were very busy waterways in the early 19th century. Numerous lighthouses and other aids to navigation were constructed to guide the mariner up the shoal-laced bay and twisting river. Many of the lighthouses also served to mark harbor or inlet entrances. One of those dual-purpose lighthouses was located at the entrance to Delaware's Mahon River.

In 1788 Benjamin Franklin, President of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, appointed a Committee of Wardens to investigate the condition of the Cape Henlopen light station, located in the State of Delaware. The tower was virtually built upon shifting sands and from its early days caused uneasiness as to its preservation.